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The mixed lineage leukaemia (MLL) gene is frequently rearranged in secondary leukaemias, in which it could fuse to a variety of different partners. Breakage in the MLL gene preferentially occurs within a ~8 kb region that possesses a strong DNA topoisomerase II cleavage site. It has been proposed that DNA topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage within this and other regions triggers translocations that occur due to incorrect joining of broken DNA ends. To further clarify a possible mechanism for MLL rearrangements, we analysed the frequency of MLL cleavage in cells exposed to etoposide, a DNA topoisomerase II poison commonly used as an anticancer drug, and positioning of the broken 3'-end of the MLL gene in respect to inherent chromosomal territories. It was demonstrated that exposure of human Jurkat cells to etoposide resulted in frequent cleavage of MLL genes. Using MLL-specific break-apart probes we visualised cleaved MLL genes in ~17% of nuclei. Using confocal microscopy and 3D modelling, we demonstrated that in cells treated with etoposide and cultivated for 1 h under normal conditions, ~9% of the broken MLL alleles were present outside the chromosome 11 territory, whereas in both control cells and cells inspected immediately after etoposide treatment, virtually all MLL alleles were present within the chromosomal territory. The data are discussed in the framework of the "breakage first" model of juxtaposing translocation partners. We propose that in the course of repairing DNA topoisomerase II-mediated DNA lesions (removal of stalled DNA topoisomerase II complexes and non-homologous end joining), DNA ends acquire additional mobility, which allows the meeting and incorrect joining of translocation partners.

BACKGROUND:It becomes increasingly evident that nuclesomes are far from being identical to each other. This nucleosome diversity is due partially to the existence of histone variants encoded by separate genes. Among the known histone variants the less characterized are H2A.Bbd and different forms of macroH2A. This is especially true in the case of H2A.Bbd as there are still no commercially available antibodies specific to H2A.Bbd that can be used for chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). METHODS:We have generated HeLa S3 cell lines stably expressing epitope-tagged versions of macroH2A1.1, H2A.Bbd or canonical H2A and analyzed genomic distribution of the tagged histones using ChIP-on-chip technique. RESULTS:The presence of histone H2A variants macroH2A1.1 and H2A.Bbd has been analyzed in the chromatin of several segments of human chromosomes 11, 16 and X that have been chosen for their different gene densities and chromatin status. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by hybridization with custom NimbleGene genomic microarrays demonstrated that in open chromatin domains containing tissue-specific along with housekeeping genes, the H2A.Bbd variant was preferentially associated with the body of a subset of transcribed genes. The macroH2A1.1 variant was virtually absent from some genes and underrepresented in others. In contrast, in closed chromatin domains which contain only tissue-specific genes inactive in HeLa S3 cells, both macroH2A1.1 and H2A.Bbd histone variants were present and often colocalized. CONCLUSIONS:Genomic distribution of macro H2A and H2A.Bbd does not follow any simple rule and is drastically different in open and closed genomic domains.

The extremely high concentration of macromolecules in a eukaryotic cell nucleus indicates that the nucleoplasm is a crowded macromolecular solution in which large objects tend to gather together due to crowding forces. It has been shown experimentally that crowding forces support the integrity of various nuclear compartments. However, little is known about their role in control of chromatin dynamics in vivo. Here, we experimentally addressed the possible role of crowding forces in spatial organization of the eukaryotic genome. Using the mouse β-globin domain as a model, we demonstrated that spatial juxtaposition of the remote regulatory elements of this domain in globin-expressing cells may be lost and restored by manipulation of the level of macromolecular crowding. In addition to proving the role of crowding forces in shaping interphase chromatin, our results suggest that the folding of the chromatin fiber is a major determinant in juxtaposing remote genomic elements.

Chromosome conformation capture (3C) and derivative experimental procedures are used to estimate the spatial proximity between different genomic elements, thus providing information about the 3D organization of genomic domains and whole genomes within the nucleus. All C-methods are based on the proximity ligation-the preferential ligation of joined DNA fragments obtained upon restriction enzyme digestion of in vivo cross-linked chromatin. Here, using the mouse beta-globin genes in erythroid cells as a model, we estimated the actual frequencies of ligation between the fragments bearing the promoter of the major beta-globin gene and its distant enhancers and showed that the number of ligation products produced does not exceed 1% of all fragments subjected to the ligation. Although this low yield of 3C ligation products may be explained entirely by technical issues, it may as well reflect a low frequency of interaction between DNA regulatory elements in vivo.